Lie Detecting Mood Ring
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: Elena gets sick of finding out that she's believed Stefan when he's lied to her again. So she has Bonnie enchant an old mood ring to be a lie detector. Damon finds out about this and decides that twenty questions with Elena is going to be really fun to play. Add in alcohol and the fun is just getting started. Damon/Elena
1. The Enchantment

Lie Detecting Mood Ring  
DG32173

Sarah: just an idea I had. I hope you enjoy.

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
If I own it, I will put that I own it in a claiming section before the chapter. Otherwise, it's safe to assume I'm only borrowing it.

_**WARNINGS**_  
PARALLEL UNIVERSE! Rated M for my sanity. Not that I have any. Elena's viewpoint.

_**SUMMARY**_  
Elena gets sick of finding out that she\'s believed Stefan when he's lied to her again. So she has Bonnie enchant an old mood ring to be a lie detector. _Damon_ finds out about this and decides that twenty questions with Elena is going to be _really_ fun to play. Add in alcohol and the fun is just getting started. _**Damon/Elena**_

* * *

Chapter 1  
The Enchantment

I sigh as I climb the steps to Bonnie's front porch. I ring the doorbell and wait, hoping that she'll be able to fulfill my request. I hear a pair of feet running down the stairs and hope that I don't have to face her dad. He's never happy when Bonnie practices her magic here. The door swings open to reveal Bonnie. "Your dad's not around, is he?" I ask pitifully.

"No, why?" Bonnie says, opening the screen door to let me in.

"Good, I need you to enchant something for me," I tell her, going straight to her living room.

"You're not talking about a daylight ring, are you?" she asks when I pull a ring box out of my pocket.

"No," I say, opening the box to show her the sterling silver mood ring resting in white velvet. "I need you to enchant this mood ring so that I'll always know when someone's lying to me."

Bonnie grimaces. "Stefan's been lying again, hasn't he?' she asks.

"When doesn't he?" I groan. "Now, I need you to make it so that the lying alert is both visible, like it turns red, and I can also _feel_ it, like it heats up a bit. That way I don't always have to look at it to know that someone's lying to me. But see if you can find a way to make it so the spell only works when the person is lying to _me_ while I'm _touching_ the ring. I don't want it to hear people making lies to other people and constantly heat up or whatever you make it do. Nor do I want it to activate when _I'm_ making lies to someone not in the know, like Jenna."

"The best I can do is make it activate when someone is lying to the person wearing it," she says apologetically. "I'm still trying to master my powers."

"I guess that'll work. I'll just have to make sure it doesn't get in the wrong hands," I tell her.

She takes the ring from the box and holds it in her palm, staring at it intently for several minutes. "Okay, I think I got it. Let's test it. Elena, lie to me about something," she says.

I think for a moment and decide that the easiest thing to try lying about is my age. "Ask me my age," I tell her.

She rolls her eyes. "How old are you, Elena?" she asks.

"Twenty-one," I tell her with a grin. The ring in her hand turns bright red and Bonnie hands it to me. I take it, and gasp in surprise at feeling the residual heat. "It worked," I say, grinning as I slide the ring on my right ring finger.

"Now you just have to be careful not to let that ring fall in the wrong hands and we're good," she tells me. "Also, I should warn you, the heat from the ring will grow more and more intense with each subsequent lie told to the wearer. But it will never _burn_ the wearer."

"Good to know. Thanks so much for this, Bonnie," I tell her, hugging her tightly.

She returns the hug just as tightly. "Anytime, girl," she says. "At least this way, you will no longer believe someone when they lie to you."

I smirk as I pull away. "I'm going to the boarding house. I can't _wait_ to see Stefan's face when I call him on his bullshit," I tell her.

"Show him!" she laughs as she shows me to the door. "See you in school tomorrow, Elena. Be sure to tell me how it goes!"

"Sure thing, Bonnie," I call over my shoulder as I climb down the stairs of her porch and make my way to my SUV. I turn when I reach the driver's door, wave my goodbye, and then climb in. I buckle up, start the engine, and pull out of Bonnie's driveway, turning in the direction of the boarding house, a grin on my face.


	2. My Little Lie Detector

Lie Detecting Mood Ring  
DG32173

Sarah: here's chapter 2 of _Lie Detecting Mood Ring._ I'm sorry about how extraordinarily short chapter one was! And I'm also sorry in the long delay in updates! Please forgive me! Anyways, here's chapter 2! I hope you enjoy!

_**TIMELINE**_  
For those who are wondering, this story takes place in an alternate universe of early season two. Katherine _is_ back. No, Damon did _not_ snap Jeremy's neck because Elena saw just how drunk and depressed he was and only told him that she cares about him, _not_ that it will always be Stefan. And no, there will be no Originals coming into play. Just Katherine.

* * *

Chapter 2  
My Little Lie Detector

I notice that Damon's Camaro is parked in its usual spot in the boarding house driveway as I park my SUV, which means he's home. Stefan's Porsche is also in _its_ spot, but _that_ doesn't mean anything. He said he had plans this evening. But maybe Damon knows where he is. Or at least when he'll be back. I turn off my SUV and get out. I lock my car before making my way to the boarding house. I let myself in as I've always done. I enter the parlor to see Damon sipping at a glass of bourbon. "Steffie's not here," he tells me with a smirk. "He was already gone by the time I got back from the council meeting this afternoon and didn't leave a note."

My mood ring doesn't heat up so I know Damon's telling the truth. "Any idea when he'll be back?" I ask.

"I just got through _saying_ he didn't leave a note," he says, rolling his eyes. "It's Thursday, so he should be back in a by tomorrow." He raises an eyebrow at me as he takes a sip of his bourbon. "Anything _I_ can help you with?" he asks, a wicked twinkle in his beautiful ice blue eyes.

I purse my lips, thinking over my options. Then I smirk, deciding to test my mood ring's enchantment on Damon. "Sure. Let's play a game," I tell him, taking a seat on the couch opposite him.

"A game?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

I hold up my right hand to show off the mood ring. "Bonnie enchanted this lovely little mood ring to be a lie detector," I tell him, grinning when he arches his eyebrow in question. "I plan on using it to catch Stefan in his lies. If someone lies to me, the stone will turn bright red and the ring will heat up. The more they lie, the hotter it gets. Bonnie assured me that it will never burn me. Since Stefan's not here, I think you and I can make use of it in a game of twenty questions."

"This could either be _really_ fun or _really_ humiliating," Damon muses, taking another sip of his bourbon while he thinks it over. Then he shrugs. "Sure, let's do this," he tells me. "No questions are off-limits, right?" he asks, arching an eyebrow.

"If we go by that rule, _I'm_ gonna need a drink myself," I tell him, grinning impishly at him.

He smirks and gets up to vamp over to the liquor cart to pour me a glass of bourbon and refill his own glass. He then comes over and hands the newly filled glass to me. I take a sip and smile as the high quality bourbon burns its way down my throat. Damon takes a seat next to me. "Who starts?" he asks, doing the 'eye thing' I secretly love.

"I'll start," I tell him, already having my first question ready. "What made you come to my room the other night completely wasted? I've _never_ seen you _that_ drunk."

He winces. "Katherine came to the boarding house the night before," he says slowly. "She wanted a little roll in the hay with yours truly. I asked her if she ever _truly_ cared about me. She ruined the mood by saying that in all honesty it had always been _Stefan._ She left after that and I had a drink, which turned into two, then four. I drank for the next twenty-four hours, laying waste to nearly our entire stock of alcohol. When I found that I couldn't get drunk enough to get the betrayal off my mind, I went to see you. Just being around you has always had a calming effect on me. I figured that if anyone would be able to get my mind off what happened, it would be you." He raises his right hand to stroke his index finger down my jaw as I suck in a sharp breath as the mood ring tells me that he's telling the stark honest truth. "I was right," he says softly, pulling his hand away. "Mood ring, please," he says, arching an eyebrow at me while he holds out his hand. I take off the mood ring and hand it over to him. He examines it briefly. "Sterling silver, huh?" he asks. I nod. "That's a pricy metal to go into a mere mood ring."

"My mom gave it to me," I tell him as he slips it on his right pinky finger. "So, ask your question."

He smirks. "The night I came to your room drunk, you told me that you 'care about me'. Just how _much_ do you care?" he asks.

I sigh. "I should have known you'd start off with a question I wouldn't want to answer," I mutter, taking a swallow of my bourbon.

"Well, you have to answer it. And your nifty little ring will tell me if your lying," he says, smirking.

I lick my lips, thinking about how _much_ of the truth to let out without it being _too_ much. "You're my closest friend, Damon," I tell him slowly. "Not even Bonnie or Caroline, my best friends since we were babies, know me _half_ as well as you've known me from the beginning. There are times I _want_ to hate you for the bullshit you pull. But I've never been able to fully commit to it. In the beginning, after I found out about the fact that you and Stefan are vampires, I was initially terrified of Stefan. And there've been times since then that I've been afraid of him. But, for some reason, I could never _fully_ bring myself to be afraid of you. Not even when you did your damnedest to scare me. Something deep inside told me that you would never _willingly_ hurt me. Even when you were at your worst, with your humanity switch flipped off, I could see this glimmer of light in your soul. I did my damnedest to bring the man out of the monster because I just _knew_ you could easily become my friend. I knew you just needed someone to believe in you, to give you a chance. I decided I should be that someone. Your own _brother_ wasn't about to do so."

As I speak, I watch as a myriad of emotions flicker across his face while he stares at the whisky in his glass. When it becomes apparent to him that I'm not going to say anymore, he takes a ragged breath. _"That_ was enlightening," he says once he's collected his wits. He takes the mood ring off and hands it back to me.

I put it on my right ring finger and contemplate my next question. I decide on one that's been bugging me for a while. "When I first came to the boarding house to return Stefan's book, I felt like that wasn't our first meeting," I say, taking a sip of my bourbon. "I felt like I knew you from somewhere, but I couldn't remember _where_ we might have met before. Now that I know what you are and what you can do, I've been meaning to ask this question: was that _really_ our first meeting?"

I take a glance at his face and frown to see that his expression has become guarded. He's silent for so long that I start wondering if he's going to refuse to answer and end our game. But he finally sighs. "No, it wasn't," he says, refusing to meet my gaze. "Our real first meeting took place the evening of May 23rd." I inhale sharply at the significance of that date. "You're parents were coming to pick you up. I happened to be on the road near the party you attended and when you left the party, you pretty much headed in my direction. We met and talked. I compelled you to forget because I didn't want anyone finding out I was in town yet since word would have eventually gotten back to Zach and Stefan."

I bite my lower lip as I realize the significance of his words. I had met _Damon_ first. And all this time he had _let_ me _think_ it had been _Stefan_ who had laid eyes on me first. And he's telling the truth. The mood ring would tell me if he was lying. I take off the ring and pass it to him. He slips it on his right pinky finger and is silent for several long minutes, thinking over his next question while sipping at his bourbon. "Well, I think I'll go easy on this one," he says, giving me a smirk. "What's up with that teddy bear of yours?"

I roll my eyes. Even though I have a _lot_ of teddy bears, we both know he doesn't have to specify _which_ teddy bear. There's only _one_ that he could be referring to: Teddy, the teddy bear that that he _loves_ holding whenever he's in my room. "Teddy's special," I say softly, closing my eyes and remembering the day I got him. "He was my first teddy bear. Mom took me to get him at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Richmond as my fifth birthday present from her. "When we first entered the store and I saw all the over-the-top teddy bears being put together for the other kids, I'll admit that I was more than a little intimidated. I was actually rather timid when I was little. But Mom saw my nerves and knew immediately what was scaring me. She knew that I was scared of the overly-elaborate teddy bears. She knelt down so that she was on eye level with me and told me that _my_ teddy bear could be a very simple bear. 'A really fluffy, really soft teddy bear with a bow around his neck would be just fine,' she said. She helped me pick out the softest stuffing, the fluffiest fur, the gentlest eyes, the cutest nose, just the right shade of brown yarn for his mouth, and the perfect ribbon to be formed into his bow. While the sales assistant was putting Teddy together, Mom told me the story about the very first teddy bear. She told me that the very first teddy bear had been formed the guardian angel of a little girl whose parents had died. The guardian angel couldn't go to the little girl to comfort her himself, so he made a stuffed bear he could inhabit that would keep the little girl company as she faced the world without her parents' guidance. It was the little girl who had come up with the name teddy bear, because that was the name she called her stuffed bear. The little girl somehow knew that her guardian angel inhabited Teddy Bear and had made him just for her. She thanked him for the teddy bear. She did her best to be worthy of such a special gift. She would play with Teddy Bear as a child. As she faced hard times, she would hug Teddy Bear tightly and cry into his fur. When she felt alone, she would just pick up Teddy Bear and remember that her guardian angel would always be there with her and had loved her so much that he had created Teddy Bear as a physical form for himself. As the girl grew up, her guardian angel watched with pride as she stayed good and was as honest as she could be. So, when the time was right, her guardian angel sent a message to the girl, who was by then a young woman, that he would leave her with Teddy Bear because he was going to search for something to reward her for the good life she had led. The guardian angel searched and searched. Just when he was afraid that he would fail in this mission he had given himself, he came across a young man whose soul would compliment the young woman's perfectly. The guardian angel could not interfere _directly_ with the living world, but he _knew_ that this soulmate was the perfect reward for the young woman. The only problem was that the young man was on the other side of the world from the young woman. So the guardian angel used the angelic powers he possessed to guide the young man to the young woman. There were times of hardship for the young man and at times the young man just felt like turning back or even giving up on ever finding something _good._ The young man was by no means perfect. He had done many things in his life that could have condemned him in many eyes. He had even condemned himself against deserving good fortune. But the guardian angel _knew_ there was good in him still, and that he deserved the goodness in the young woman. The guardian angel _knew_ that once the young man and young woman were united, the young woman would do whatever it took to redeem the young man of his past life and show him that he _is_ worthy of good things happening to him. So the guardian angel got permission from God to be a touch deceptive in regards to the young man. It was for a good cause, after all. Well, God had been watching everything, of course, and allowed that touch of deception. So the guardian angel did what he had to do to get the young man into the young woman's hometown. He made them cross paths just once, because he _knew_ that their hearts would guide them to each other again after that first meeting. After that, the guardian angel needed to rest. So he returned to Teddy Bear and took up residence inside of him to watch as the young woman and young man fell in love. It's no surprise that after spending so much time in the presence of the young woman's guardian angel, the young man was at ease with Teddy Bear. After all, the guardian angel that had brought him to the young woman and now resided within Teddy Bear. The young man had no qualms about holding Teddy Bear whenever he got the chance and, in fact, did so as much as possible. But much to the guardian angel's surprise, the young woman had _very_ little to do with the young man's redemption. He wanted to make himself worthy of such a good soul and so he redeemed himself." I smile, keeping my eyes closed. "Time passed and they had children. The guardian angel had made Teddy Bear when the young woman had just been five years old. When the young woman's daughter turned five, she wanted to pass along the gift of a teddy bear. So she set her daughter down and got out Teddy Bear. She told her daughter all about Teddy Bear and the guardian angel that still resided in him. She told her daughter what that guardian angel had done as a reward for her own good life. The daughter said she wanted a teddy bear, too. So the young woman and her daughter set to work on making the daughter her own special teddy bear to house _her_ guardian angel. As the generations passed, some women kept the tradition of passing along _The Story of Teddy Bear_ to their daughters when they turned five. Others subconsciously wanted that physical embodiment of the guardian angel much sooner, and sometimes even made or picked out a teddy bear while still pregnant. Some have even _forgotten_ about _The Story of Teddy Bear_ but _still_ pass along that first teddy bear to their daughters. Overtime, sometimes even the sons had been privileged with a teddy bear, though many of _them_ grow to think it's embarrassing." I sigh and open my eyes. "That's the story Mom told me while Teddy was being put together. I believe in the idea of a guardian angel residing in a girl's first teddy and, if the girl has been _really_ good, going on search for the girl's soulmate to bring him to her," I tell Damon with a warm smile.

He's quiet for quite a while after that, examining the mood ring. "I want to make sure this thing works for people other than little miss witch," he says, his blue eyes twinkling.

I sigh. "Damon, after the incident with the grimiore, I promised myself I would _never_ lie to you again," I tell him seriously.

"Oh, I'm not talking about _you_ lying," he says with a smirk, sliding the ring off and passing it to me. "Steffie's home."

I feel my eyes widen with surprise and quickly slip the mood ring onto my right ring finger. I turn towards the front door just as Stefan opens it and walks in. "Elena, what are you doing here?" he asks with a frown, coming into the foyer quickly.

"I was waiting for you," I reply. "Damon and I were passing the time with a game of Twenty Questions." I glance at Damon. "It's my turn," I remind him.

"Finish up with your boyfriend and I'll be happy to continue playing," he replies with a wicked grin as he sips at his bourbon.

I turn to Stefan. "Where'd you go?" I ask curiously.

"I told you, I had plans," he says, trying to evade the question.

"I'm your girlfriend," I point out, keeping my right hand behind me so that Damon can see it but Stefan _can't_. "I should at _least_ be allowed to know what those plans were."

"I went hunting," he replies quickly. The ring heats up. A lie.

"Oh?" I ask. "What did you hunt?"

"Elena, you don't like talking about when I hunt," he points out.

"Well, maybe I'm filled with curiosity tonight," I retort. "What did you hunt?"

"I caught a rabbit and a couple of squirrels," he replies. The ring gets hotter.

I purse my lips. "Were you 'hunting' near the boarding house?"

"Yes," he says. The ring gets even hotter.

I sigh. "Stefan, you can stop lying any time now," I tell him.

"I'm not lying!" he protests. The ring gets even _hotter._

I pull my hand from behind my back and show it to him. "See the red stone on this ring?" I ask.

"What about it?" he asks.

"I've been getting tired of turning around constantly to find out that I've believed some lie," I tell him. "So this ring and I made a visit to Bonnie this afternoon before coming here." The fear is all over his face. "This is actually a mood ring, Stefan. I asked Bonnie to enchant this ring so that there will be two ways of knowing if I'm being lied to. She said the best she could do is make the stone turn red and the ring heat up when someone is lying to the person wearing it. As you can see, it's turned _very_ red. You lied to me four times just now. It's pretty damn hot because of that. Bonnie assured me the ring won't burn the wearer. Damon and I were using it as a way to make sure we were telling the truth during the game of Twenty Questions. Apparently, he and I are pretty damn honest with each other, so we were wondering if Bonnie had goofed on the spell. Now I know she hadn't." I turn and slide the ring off my finger and pass it to Damon. He raises an eyebrow in question. "Put it on and call out when I'm lying, please," I tell him.

He smirks and slides it on his right pinky finger. "I can't wait to see this," he chuckles.

I turn to Stefan. "Stefan, I love you," I tell him.

"Lie," Damon says.

I smirk. "Stefan, I can't stand looking at your face right this second."

"Truth," Damon speaks up. Stefan pales.

"Stefan, I will be able to forgive you for _anything."_

"Lie."

"Stefan, the moment I made the decision to find something Bonnie could enchant into a lie detector, I _completely_ gave up on _ever_ being able to trust you."

"Truth." Stefan's eyes widen.

"Stefan, what we had was real."

Damon bursts out laughing. "Well, _damn!"_ he crows. "I may _yet_ find myself a spot in Heaven! That was a damn _lie!"_

Stefan gasps.

I let my lips turn into a cruel smile. "Stefan, what we had was over-extended infatuation on my part that was _mistaken_ for love."

"Truth," Damon says around his giggles.

"Stefan, what we had _might_ have lasted if you had been honest with me."

"Lie!"

"Stefan, what we had was doomed to end before you even _approached_ me." Damon's quiet for so long that I turn to look at him. He's staring at me with his jaw _dropped._ If this was a cartoon, his jaw would be on the couch. Thankfully, this _isn't_ a cartoon. I smirk at him. "Verdict, Damon," I remind him. "Was I lying or telling the truth? By the way, shut your mouth before you swallow a fly."

Damon snaps his mouth shut and shakes his head in wonder. "Well, even _I'm_ shocked by _that_ verdict of the mood ring: you were telling the damn truth," he says after he gathers his wits.

I turn around to face Stefan. His face is a mask of shock and pain. "Stefan, our relationship was doomed before it started because you don't know how to _trust_ anyone," I tell him.

"Mood ring says she honestly _believes_ that's the truth," Damon says, his voice full of awe.

"I know how to trust!" Stefan snaps.

Damon sighs. "According to the ring, not even _you_ believe that," he says.

I take a deep breath. "Stefan," I start, meeting his eyes. "I feel like I don't even _know_ who you are. You are _not_ the person you tricked me into thinking you were."

"She's speaking honestly," Damon says.

" My parents raised Jer and I to believe that any _positive_ relationship is _only_ that way by trust being given and received by both parties," I tell Stefan. "Even you know you don't know _how_ to trust anyone. _Because_ of that, any relationship with you is _bound_ to end up a negative one. Damon has _never_ flat-out lied to my face. He only misled me by _omitting_ details, but he _never_ lied to me. My trust in him was first placed there tentatively. He's omitted crucial details from what he tells me, he's inadvertently hurt me by not listening to me when I'm trying to share things with him. But I _can_ forgive that. What I _can't_ forgive is someone looking me in the eye and telling me something they know damn well isn't true in the least. Even the night I read your names on the town charter, he didn't lie to me. Who you two were as humans must have been _very_ different from who you are now. Time changes people. You two have had a hundred-and-forty-five _years_ to change your personalities time and again. I'm the kind of person who looks out for the little guys. Damon looks at the overall picture and does what has to be done to make everything work out all right in the end, even if it is something cruel or dangerous. Sometimes what needs to be done to make the bigger picture work out all right hurts the little guys. That makes me upset. But once he's sat me down and explained it all to me, I can see where he's coming from and why it has to be done. Sure, I usually feel like there could have been other ways it could have been handled, but sometimes the expedient way is _actually_ the best way." I look down at my hands in my lap. "Stefan, you only look out for yourself. But you don't like that about yourself so you pretend it's _Damon_ who's doing that. You need to face facts, Stefan. Whatever happened the night you two were killed by your own father, you, Damon, Katherine, and Giuseppe are equally to blame in my opinion. From what I understand, Damon _trusted_ you when you said you wouldn't say a word to your father about _anything_ related to vampires. That was his mistake: trusting you to keep your mouth shut. You, you viewed the world through rose-colored glasses. You thought that if you could just reason with your father, he would come to see things your way. You had put your trust in your father when Damon had put _his_ trust in _you._ That was your mistake: you _broke_ your promise to Damon that you would keep your mouth shut. Giuseppe had let fear of the unknown turn into blind hatred and the need to abolish that which he didn't understand. He didn't _think_ that you two might have truly had your hearts stolen by her rather than just being compelled to be with her. That was his mistake: his inability to just _accept_ what he didn't understand. And Katherine? She's made more mistakes in her long life than I care to think about." I look first into Damon's eyes then turn to look into Stefan's eyes. "But _I_ can't hold it against her because then I wouldn't have met either of _you._ Stefan, your father broke your trust by spiking your drink with vervaine and broke it _again_ in shooting you through the heart. But that _should not_ make you feel like you _can't_ trust anyone but yourself.

"I've had my faith in the world broken more times than I want to think about. _I_ broke my promise to my family to be there on Game Night on the night of May 23rd of this year. That ended up with my parents drowning. I allowed myself to wallow in guilt, grief, and self-hatred for _so_ many months and was lost _so deeply_ in those negative emotions that I literally _cannot_ remember anything that happened this summer. I remember every _second_ of the crash. I remember waking up in the hospital and finding out my parents had not made it. Then it's just a blur of grief, guilt, and self-loathing up until the first day of school. There are snippets and glimpses here and there, but _that's it._ What you two have seen in me since school started is me _slowly_ working my way _out_ of those negative emotions. It's hard, it's uncomfortable, and at times all I want to do is sink right back into them and let the world go by without me. There are even times I wish I was a vampire for the simple ability to lock away _every_ emotion because it would be so much _easier_ to just _not feel._ But I know that I would never be able to keep the switch flipped permanently. _Something_ would flip it right back on and then I'd be heaped with even _more_ negative emotions over what I did when I had locked them away. I'm just seventeen. You two are both over a hundred-and-sixty. But if there's something _I've_ learned that you two seem to still be struggling with, it's that whatever happened even two seconds ago _can't be changed._ You can only look at it as a lesson and either _learn_ from it or face repeating that same event at some point in the future." I sigh. "I'm quite certain that the _very_ first word that went through both your heads when you saw me was 'Katherine'. And it was at _that_ split-second that the 'Battle for the Girl' started all over again. Only there's one problem. In the first round of that Battle, 'the Girl' was a vampiress and you two were human. In _this_ round, 'the Girl' is a _human_ and you two are _vampires._ In case you don't understand the problem, I'll spell it out for you. There are actually several small problems that sum up to the big one.. The first small problem I see is that Katherine and I might as well be twins for all that she's more than five hundred years older than me. My resemblance to your _sire_ sparked up _all_ the emotions both of you have been suppressing since the day she was 'taken' from you. And I do mean _all_ of them. The bad _as well as_ the good. The good news is that you both eventually realized that I'm _not_ her. The bad news is that neither of you actually _cared_ once you realized that the other would want me just as much. The battle for my heart was already in motion. And I hadn't even been _asked_ my opinion. This battle to be the 'better brother' dates all the way back to the split-second Katherine decided she just _had_ to have you both. You are _both_ trying to one-up each other _all the damn time._ Stefan, you think lying to me 'protects' me because then I won't be worrying when in actuality I _need_ to worry about some things. I'm mature enough to know what I should and should _not_ worry about, so I'm _begging_ you to start giving me the damned truth from here on. Damon, you've always been _completely_ honest with me. I appreciate that, I _really_ do. _But_ you sometimes go _too_ far, like when you're tattling on your brother's actions. The heads up at Miss Mystics Falls was a good thing, but that other stuff? That's just _tattling._ _Some_ things I need to find out for myself. That way, he only has himself to blame and he can't get bitchy at you for telling me. Stefan, you need to _stop_ spouting of the line of 'did Damon put you up to this?' When you do _that,_ it makes me realize you don't really consider that I _have_ my own free will. Damon, you look at the big picture, yes. But usually the big picture you look at is only the big picture _of the moment._ You _need_ to start adding _long-range_ consequences into the calculation. Killing Lexi got the town council off yours and Stefan's backs. _But_ it nearly got _you_ turned into a vampire barbecue at a later point. Don't even _try_ to start asking 'how were you supposed to know' because I'll answer that now: Lexi was _much_ older than you and Stefan. Stefan _could not_ have been her only friend in all that time. She seemed _extremely_ friendly and she was actually a pretty good person, as I was _just_ starting to find out when you killed her. _Instead_ of killing her for whatever reason you gave yourself, you _could_ have asked her for a _little_ help finding a suitable vampire to stake. _Or_ you could have compelled your way into the jail in the next town, found someone who actually _did_ do something pretty despicable, turned them, temporarily released them on the town, and _then_ stage your show of staking a vampire to get everyone off your back.

"I have a funny feeling that at one point, you and Lexi had been friends as well. Whatever dispute you had with her could _not_ have been as much of one as you have with Stefan. You haven't killed your brother. You shouldn't have killed Lexi. Speaking of killing each other, I am _certain_ that you have both gotten _pretty_ close to doing _just_ that _many_ times over the years. There _has_ to have been moments for _both_ of you where one of you could have _easily_ staked the other and have been rid of the eternal nuisance he represents. _Something_ stopped you both _time and again_ from being rid of the annoying pest that keeps coming back into your life no matter _what_ you do to shake him." I stand up. "Figure out what that _something_ is. Use it as a foundation to start building a bond of brotherhood on. I'm leaving now and I'm going to leave my little lie detector with you two. Use it to talk out your problems with each other. Or not. But just _talk_ to each other. Take turns and _vent_ all that frustration that's built up over the decades. I _don't_ want to see _either_ of you again until you've _started_ solving all those problems you have with each other. And Stefan," I add, turning to him. "You and I are not an item anymore. Whatever it was we were doing was a _joke._ Until the two of you can figure out if it's _me_ you're in love with or just in love with the prospect of finally 'getting the girl and beating your brother', _neither_ of you are welcome in my house. I'm going to stop by Bonnie's again and see if maybe on of her grimiores has a spell she can cast to revoke _all_ vampire invites into my house. Once you both can _prove_ to me that you are _both_ over this whole feud you two have with each other, _neither_ of you are coming in my house."

With that, I leave two _very_ stunned vampires staring after me as I make my way out of the boarding house. As soon as I climb in my SUV, though, I groan. "I did what you asked," I tell my unwelcome visitor. "You said you wanted me to _end_ the feud you started nearly a century and a half ago. I just gave them _both_ a piece of my mind, as I'm _quite_ sure you've heard. _What_ are you doing in my car?" I ask, glaring into my review mirror at the woman whose face I was born with.

"I know the spell your witch will need to do to get your wish of revoking all vampire invites," Katherine Pierce says softly. "But I will be expecting to be _re-invited._ I'm by no means done with my final descendant, Elena Gilbert. Even if you _do_ get those two to stop acting like bratty children, I still have _many_ things left to take care of where you're concerned. Now, get driving. We don't have long before sunset and _that's_ the only time the spell can be cast successfully. Of course, if we miss our mark, we could _always_ do it tomorrow or the day after. So long as it's _sunset_ when the spell is cast, it will succeed. Otherwise it will be just pointless fireworks."

I sigh but start the car, turning it in the direction of Bonnie's house. My friend will _not_ be happy to see who I'm working for now. Not that I'm at all happy having to _work_ for her. But her human blood runs in my veins, however faintly. She and I are family. Isobel and I are the only family Katherine has left. And we are both stuck working for her because her blood runs in our veins.

* * *

Sarah: dun, dun, dun. Big plot twist. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews will be _much_ appreciated!


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